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How To Get The Perfect Pregnancy Glow for Your Maternity Shoot

I remember the morning of my maternity session—I was a hot, sweaty and frazzled 7-month mama-to-be. I felt anything but glowing! If you're growing a tiny human you know what I'm talking about. Thankfully, with some planning on my part and working with a photographer who was able to translate those beads of sweat into glowing images, I was happy with the results. I'm sharing some of my tips with you today alongside this gorgeous session captured by Katta Tubio!

Pamper Yourself

When you're in your third trimester (the common time to do a maternity session), getting ready on any given day is a challenge. So, when it comes time to really fancy yourself up, there's no denying you'll want to stick your entire body in your freezer or maybe take 10 minute breaks in the process. Here are a few things I did to keep my cool, literally, and work that sweat into a pretty glow: First, make sure to hit the spa in the days leading up to your shoot to take care of those rogue brow hairs, get a facial, manicure and pedicure—whatever makes you feel good about yourself! Get plenty of rest the night before—that is, if you're not getting up to pee every few hours (it'll happen). But in any case, try to go to bed a bit earlier than usual to feel well rested for your shoot. When it comes to the day of, give yourself plenty of time to get ready as well. Rushing is never fun, especially when you're toting a watermelon around. I think I started getting ready 3-4 hours before my photographer arrived and took some breaks in between to stay relaxed.

Makeup + Wardrobe

My favorite maternity sessions are the ones where the mama-to-be's natural beauty shines through. Consider going for a more natural look for your makeup, with a little extra fancying. Eyelash extensions are a fun way to enhance your natural look and blotting papers are lifesavers, too! Get them, you'll thank me. I also took breaks in between shooting to freshen up and use the ladies room several times, of course. If you're not comfortable doing your own hair and makeup, hire a professional—you deserve it mama. Choose flattering dresses to show off that cutie bump of yours. Flowy styles are perfect, or opt for a form-fitting number to enhance your bump, especially if you're doing your shoot a bit early on in pregnancy. These ones were my favorite!

Find a Photographer You're Comfortable With

This might be the most important part. Regardless of how much you prep, pamper and primp yourself, getting in front of a lens with a bump can be intimidating and make you feel suuuper awkward. But if you work with a photographer that makes you 110% comfortable, that "glow" will come through beautifully in their imagery. Letting your photographer guide you and make suggestions is always a good idea, but don't be afraid to tell them how YOU are most comfortable. Do you have a side of your face you like better? It sounds silly but a lot of women actually do. Raised hand over here! You can also practice maternity poses as well beforehand to help loosen up your nerves. Take a peek at other maternity sessions for inspiration! From Katta Tubio... This lovely maternity shoot took place in Prague in different locations. First one, the interior location was the Soho restaurant Prague, beautiful, peaceful place by the river with amazing design, a total match with our desire colour palette. Other two external locations was in Vojanovy Sady, little park right in the heart of Prague's most touristic area called Mala strana. This little oasis is well known by the locals for its wilderness of peacocks walking freely around and the other external locations was in Wallenstein garden which is on the other hand known for its beautiful baroque paintings. The amazing mum to be is very passionate about fashion and both she and her husband also work in fashion. Together we prepared very pastel colour palette to create soft and elegant look. Playing with the textures of an old buildings.